Visit hotels, airlines and rental car companies online. Websites such as Smarter Travel and Kayak offer aggregate prices for travel from individual hotel, car and airline sites. It is an easy way to compare and contrast numerous sites without having to spend too much time on the computer. Sites like Hotwire and Priceline give travelers the chance to stay in nicer hotels or fly between cities at a discount over normal rates.
Join a Costco members-only shopping club. Costco stores offer members the chance to purchase hotel rooms, airline tickets and rental cars at sharp discounts over normal prices. Depending on the city, some rental cars can have a 35 percent discount, and many times the provider throws in a free weekend day or free upgrade. Alamo, Avis, Budget and Enterprise are the car companies offered. Hyatt and Best Western properties have specials, and Disney and Universal Orlando also cater to Costco members.
Join a bank-card rewards program. Credit cards offer the chance for travelers to earn points on every dollar spent for purchases. Those points can be redeemed for discounts on travel. It is a program so popular with travelers that banks have started programs for using ATM cards as payment for goods and services. Treat the ATM card like a credit purchase and watch the savings add up. Bank of America and Chase are two banks that offer rewards cards.
Stay at the same hotel chain, fly the same airline or rent a car from the same company. Some travelers like one particular company. Those companies recognize the value of a frequent customer and they bend over backwards to keep customers happy. The Wyndham Corporation, which operates hotels like Howard Johnson, Super 8, Wingate and Days Inn, allows customers to rack up reward points redeemable for free nights.
